1983 Perma-Graphics Gold and Regular

I came across these two little gems while doing a general search for "Indians Oddball" on eBay some time ago. I had never heard of these before then (I've had them for a couple years now), so I was pretty excited to snag them up.

In 1983, Perma-Graphics came up with a regular issue and a "gold card" issue. The cards are modeled after credit cards. I have several other 'credit card' types that I'll post in the future. But for now, let's break these down.

The regular issue cards feature a cream-colored border that surrounds a gradient-filled inner border. There's a baseball perched at the top of the inner border, just to let you know that this is a baseball collectible. I have no idea if they dabbled in other sports, but if they did, we can assume they used appropriate icons (volleyball, badminton, curling, etc). The photo of the player takes up a decent amount of the card face, and is probably the size of a mini sticker like Topps used to make around the same time these came out. Hmm... In fact, on the back, there is a (c)TCG... Coincidence? I'm not thinkin' so. Beneath the photo, the card reads "SUPER STAR" with "1983" between the two words. Then, we have the player's name and team, position, and league. The card may be thickness of a credit card and it feels to be about the same size.

The back of the card features a black stripe with the player's name, uniform number, position and team. Below that in a cream-colored box is player bio info with height, weight etc, including how the player ended up on the team he is on currently. Under that are career stats in a single-line table, followed by a section of Career Highlights. Then, there is a white strip where one would presumably sign their name (like on a credit card).

In fine print at the bottom are these words, "The bearer of this card is a certified loyal fan and is entitled to all ensuing rights and privileges." I wonder what the expiration date is on these?? And just what are the "ensuing rights and privileges" of a "certified loyal fan?" Do we get free tickets? Free hot dogs? How about oddball team items?? Ah, well, the world may never know...

The "gold" version of the card is exactly the same as the regular issue, but the whole card has been tinted or layered with a gold/sepia finish. The card, as you can see, is also much, much darker. This is not a bonus, however, as it makes things hard to read.

I am going to have to research this whole "certified loyal fan" thing... The ambiguity of the rewards is just too much to bear!